In Ghost In The Shell; Stand Alone Complex 1, police investigators are bugged with 'Interceptors.' These devices are fitted inside the eye and monitor whatever the subject sees. The implants are installed covertly into the police because the cyberisation of most citizens gives someone with the motivation the ability to 'hack' an individual, forcing them into unconsciousness and then re-writing their memory of what happened.

Film-maker Rob Spence, who lost his eye in an accident had a camera installed into his right eye so he could record what he saw in front of him. What interests me here isn't the technology, but the motivations and opportunities of the installers. With the Ghost in The Shell scenario the means of technology are there for the devices to be installed covertly and the justification, ie. the level of confidence brought through power by the perpetrators. A modern equivalent might be hard to make work, particularly with the regrettable lack of ability to replace someone's memories (that we, paradoxically, know of) and so a level of coercion would be required to install any sort of cybernetic prosthesis in the body, as the chemical chips I'm proposing would.

The second scenario takes a willing patient to want their body to be altered by technology. While there is no shortage of people with Robocop-esque dream abound on the Internet, the number in positions of real power and responsibility where an impact might be felt who would volunteer would probably be rare. The point is to track the chemicals of the minds of people who have the power to change things, much like Gattaca, these companies might well have strict policies on the body modifications of an individual a la piercings and grunge haircuts now and so it would attract people naturally ... natural.

Would they then volunteer to have their brains chipped in return for incentives? Or would there be a coercive way of introducing them?